Government, public-private TF to review introduction
Cloud market growth expected at a turning point
Effect such as improvement of work convenience in public roads
Task force is considering introducing private SaaS into public work networks, which are areas where 'software as a service' (SaaS) is prohibited. This will provide a new opportunity for domestic cloud companies, and broaden the scope of cloud service utilization and enhance work convenience for the public. It was confirmed that the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) has formed a task force (TF) to promote the use of private SaaS in public work networks. Officials from the MOIS, the National Information society Agency (NIA), the Korea Software Industry Association (KOSA)’s SaaS Promotion Council, the Korea Association of Cloud Industry (KACI), and the National Information Resources Service (NIRS) participated. About 20 cloud companies, including Naver Cloud, Kakao Enterprise, Bespin Global, Megazone Cloud, and Sparrow, attended. The TF will operate until next year and explore the possibility of introducing private SaaS into the public business network.
Public institutions such as government agencies and local governments use network separation, and SaaS is used only in part of an external network for public service. The internal network does not use SaaS even for products that have passed the Cloud Security Assurance Program (CSAP) due to business confidentiality. Most public cloud services are mainly composed of 'infrastructure as a service' (IaaS). The cloud continuously demanded that enterprises be able to provide SaaS to the public sector.
The MOIS is reviewing plans to install private SaaS at the NIRS. As the national information technology (IT) system has been densely accumulated, it seems that it is easy to link other systems and resolve security concerns. Each institution can conveniently apply for and use SaaS for internal business purposes.
The introduction of private SaaS into public work networks is expected to be a turning point in the growth of the cloud market. In the public sector, various business can be conveniently available by having the access to Internet. Flexibility of service management will also improve. The transition to public cloud could gain momentum.
There are many obstacles to go through. Currently, there are about 30 SaaS products certified from CSAP. Even if private SaaS adoption is allowed in the future, adopting the new system will inevitably be ignored if there is not enough options. The process of getting CSAP certification takes several months, which also is a stumbling block.
The absolute number of domestic SaaS products is also insufficient. The lack of a development environment such as tools for SaaS development in Korea is an issue that needs to be addressed. A billing system and an interface for management must also be prepared if SaaS transition takes place to the public. On the 9th, Bo-ram Seo, director of the Digital Information Bureau, said, “There are many tasks to be solved, such as security issues, costs, and systems; thus, it will take time to introduce private SaaS to the public. Ultimately, I think it is desirable to use private SaaS.”
The government has started a project to convert 10,000 public systems to the cloud by 2025. In the second half of next year, the e-government cloud platform will be operational as well. If private SaaS can be used for internal business networks, the government's cloud transition policy is expected to accelerate.
<Table> Sales by Cloud Service Sector (Unit: KRW 100 million)
Provided by Korean Association of Cloud Industry '2020 Cloud Industry Survey Results Report'
By Staff Reporter Ho-cheon An (hcan@etnews.com)